Last week, the Science Society was delighted to welcome OE Paula Darwin (great-great-great granddaughter of Charles Darwin) to discuss microbes and her research into alteromonas. 

Paula is currently pursuing a PhD in dietary-induced obesity and cellular lipidomics at the University of Cambridge, using mass spectrometry and physiology techniques to see what changes occur in fat cells during the onset of obesity and type 2 diabetes mellitus. She discussed her research in Iceland and Avignon and how her team of peers came to decide upon a hypothesis and collected samples, all the while expressing her passion for science and her career.

After leaving Emanuel in 2015, Paula pursued a gap year, working at the London base of operations for the Galapagos Conservation Trust (GCT) and carrying out work experience at a St John’s hospital in Germany before pursuing BSc Biological Sciences at the University of Reading. Her PhD position was granted following her undergraduate dissertation on cancer treatment and diet.